Corina remained faithful to the Jewish traditions and faith of her birth and upbringing, but in the sense of being a woman of sacrifice and charity, exemplified to her son’s Christian family a most noble example. Every time she generously shared her loving care and and estate with us, we proclaimed that she was the most Christian person we knew. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. We celebrate her graduation into life everlasting and will miss her most charming smile and accent, her dedication to family and friends, her acts of kindness, and the intense energy with which this small woman pursued such a large life.
Referencing paternal and maternal surnames in the tradition of Mexico where she was raised, Corina Saltiel Abouaf was born in Mexico City, Mexico on January 3, 1930, and passed through the veil into the loving embrace of those who preceded her at 2:30 A.M. on January 11, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah, a week after her 89th birthday. She was the fourth child born to Joseph Abraham “Jose” Saltiel Nahama and Raquel Abouaf Perahia de Saltiel, both of Sephardic Jewish ancestry. Her father originated from Salonica, Greece, and her mother from Constantinople, Turkey, at a time when these cities comprised the largest colonies of Sephardic Jewry in the diaspora of Spanish exiles, dwelling in security in the Ottoman Empire for 500 years. Corina was a precious addition to her family comprised of two surviving older brothers, gentle Alberto Leopold “Beto” Saltiel (95) and enterprising Shemaya “Chema” Saltiel (90), aka Jose “Pepe” Saltiel, Jr. (Carmen Alicia Gortarez). An older sister, Ana “Anita” Saltiel de Bazan, passed from this life in 1951 leaving two cherished nieces who in their teenage years became an integral part of Corina’s household for a season, Esther Bazan de Behar and Raquel Bazan de Magrisso.
Corina was a cherished child, more free to run than her older siblings, surrounded by twenty mostly older Saltiel, Lichi, Abouaf, Benabib, Danon, and Altaled cousins of which only nine have not preceded her in death: David Saltiel Aelion, Elias Benabib Abouaf, Estrella “Chata” Benabib Abouaf (Bazan), Isidoro “Rey” Altaled Abouaf, Shemaya “Chemita” Altaled Abouaf, Carolina “Corina” Abouaf Babani, Estrella Abouaf Babani (Jim Engelhardt), Ana “Anita” Saltiel Navon (Danon), and Albert “Al” Saltiel Navon. She learned the value of thrift and industry at an early age in the family store, Vestano, and earned a two-year college degree in homemaking, making it her first and most true profession.
Corina flowered into stunning woman of ability and compassion, a talented homemaker and a self-made investor who provided security and stability for her family. She married Daniel Motola Behar on July 30, 1950 in Mexico City and bore him two sons, Jose “Pepe” Motola Saltiel (who passed in 2016 three years after the passing of his beloved, Muriel Zondra “Murme” Bernstein), and Eduardo Isaac “Ed” Motola Saltiel, who has fathered her six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Pepe suffered polio paralysis in Mexico at the age of three. Corina devoted herself to his rehabilitation in California and he lived for 65 productive years, a truly lovable man.
Corina loved to folk dance and was noted for her precision homemaking skills and gourmet cooking. She sewed many of her own clothes to complement her petite figure and made many gifts from baking, sewing, knitting, and other crafts. Her gifts were a home-made sacrifice, the product of her hands, and she gave generously to friends, neighbors, and family. She even honored her son’s doctors, therapists, and teachers, the postman, garbage collectors, milkmen, bakery drivers, and others who served her neighborhood in Santa Monica, California, where she and Danny raised their sons.
Corina continued dancing until she was 65 years old with her second husband, Milton (Melech) Handel whom she married on February 15, 1987 in Los Angeles and who passed on at age 82 in 2001, a cherished grandfather to his grandchildren. As a single woman, she worked in business management, banking, and real estate investment, achieving independence and wisdom. She took care of her widowed mother for many years and toured with her in Europe, chiefly with the folk dancers, but also with Ed during triennial reunions of the worldwide Shealtiel Family Association. Corina and Milton retired from Santa Monica to Laguna Woods, California where her few remaining friends mourn her departure to Utah to live near Ed’s family in memory care as dementia began to rob her of her short-term memory. She maintained her dignity, grace, and gentleness up to the end when her body succumbed to aging.
Corina is also survived by her family in Utah: enthusiastic son Ed (65), daughter-in-law – Susan Kaye Sorensen (Motola), six grandchildren – Corinna Marlene Motola (formerly with Erik Torres and currently engaged to Liam Lewane), Susanna Maureen Motola (Tyler Andrew Goodspeed), Daniel Jacob Motola, David Gabriel Motola (Molly Elizabeth Shorten), Rebecca Lynne “Beckie” Motola (currently engaged to Jason Arias), Rachel Ann Motola, and six great grandchildren – Micah Nicolas Torres, Isaac Gabriel Motola, Ezra Joseph Motola, Samuel Benjamin Motola, Tyler Ammon Grant Goodspeed, and Sariah Melody Goodspeed.
Corina and Ed were present at the passing of her step-son, Robin Steven Handel in 2014 who is survived by his wife Wendi Jill Slockett (Eric Chatham) and Rob’s brother, Richard Perry Handel, and Rob’s three children and step-children, Richard Alexander Handel, JoNan Bethany “Jonie” Brown and Jared Vester Brown. She is also survived by her former husband, Daniel B. Motola (Maureen Mae Stevens), cousins’ spouses, and many nieces and nephews to whom she was revered as Tia Corina, a great lady, and a woman of power not to be trifled with, yet tender and caring.
A private family memorial service will be held in Utah on Saturday, January 12, 2019. Corina Motola Handel will be laid to rest next to her mother, husband, son, and daughter-in-law at Eden Memorial Park, 11500 Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills, California at 11:00 A.M. Sunday, January 20, 2019. Come to the chapel in the red brick building. Arrive 30 minutes early if you want to attend the viewing. The burial will follow around noon. Those who wish to remember Corina may write to Ed Motola c/o [email protected]. For those who wish to donate flowers, call the mortuary at 818-365-7151 to arrange delivery, or plant daisies.
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